


Odd for us to meet like this

by Lionheart_Rising



Series: Daughter of Bard, Son of Durin [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Sigrid is a waitress, fili works construction, running into each other - literally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 03:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3104006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lionheart_Rising/pseuds/Lionheart_Rising
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laketown is dreary most days. It's dreary the day Sigrid meets Fili. However, it might not stay that way forever. Modern AU take, in which nobody's dead!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Odd for us to meet like this

**Author's Note:**

> What happens when you’re pissed off about the way someone died in a movie? You write AU fanfiction about their non-canon pairing you’re in love with. Hope you enjoy my little bit of Figrid. :)

The worst part of Sigrid’s day was, she had to say, first getting to work. The diner was freezing in the early morning before it opened, and as she was the one who opened it, it was miserable. The cook – Maria – arrived soon after her, but for that first half hour or so of filling salt and pepper shakers and wiping down tables, Sigrid wondered why the hell she took the job. And then she remembered that her da’s salary as a transporter of goods was not quite enough to pay all the bills and that was why she wasn’t going to college like most nineteen year olds. She got a bit sad when she remembered that. But those feelings were secondary to there actually being food on the table and heat in the house, so she tried not to let it weigh her down too much. Besides, perhaps her siblings might be able to go to one day if she made enough money.

She snapped out of her daze when Maria called her name.

“Sig, could you flip on the ‘open’ sign? It’s 7.”

Sigrid nodded, heading over to the window. She took a moment to look outside. The weather was as cold and rainy as it had been on her miserable walk over, but then that’s how it always was in Laketown. 

It was barely five minutes later that people started showing up in search of breakfast. Sigrid put on her apron and a falsely cheerful smile, all while mentally counting down the hours until her lunch break.

The morning went by as quickly as was possible, while waiting tables and restraining from killing sleezy patrons who tried to feel her up. Maria often offered to loan her a frying pan if she needed it, but Sigrid declined. Mostly because hitting their weasely manager Alfrid, who was just as bad as the patrons, would be a sure way for her to lose any chance of employment at all in Laketown, since he worked directly for the Mayor, who in turn owned the diner. But it would have felt nice, since Alfrid was the biggest skeeve Sigrid had  
ever met. Hitting him with a cast-iron frying pan would have at least been entertaining for her and Maria.

+++

Going home from work that night, Sigrid stopped at the grocer’s to pick up some bread for supper, and mentally went over what she’d have to do. Tilda would probably need help with her math homework, and Bain would want her to look over his essay. Then there was the knitting she did, both to keep her family in socks and hats and to calm her after a stressful day. She was just leaving the store, her mind somewhere less rainy, when she collided with something solid.

At first she thought she’d run into the door, which she’d until then believed was automatic, but when an arm wrapped around her waist to stop her from falling backwards, she became fairly certain that she’d run into a someone instead of a something. Which was possibly more embarrassing; she wasn’t entirely clear on that point.

“Oh, sorry! You alright?” The voice she assumed was connected with the arm sounded friendly and male. Sigrid brought her head back down from the clouds (where it was sunny, and Alfrid was being hit over the head with frying pans and scrubbing the floors on his hands and knees for once). 

She found herself looking at a man, probably a few years older than herself. He was about two inches shorter than her, but his shoulders were a good deal wider and he had short blond hair and matching beard.

“I-I’m fine, thanks,” she stammered. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. My fault.”

“Eh, equally mine,” he said, a crooked smile on his face.

“Uh, you gonna let her go now, Fee?” a second male voice asked, sounding amused. Sigrid only just then noticed another young man, this one with dark hair and whiskers. She blushed heavily, as did the blond man, who let her go then.

“You sure you’re alright?” the man said, sounding concerned.

“I’m fine; I’ve had far worse than running into someone,” Sigrid assured him, shifting the bread in her arms.

“If you’re sure then,” he said, smiling kindly at her.

“I am, thanks,” Sigrid said. “Have a nice day.”

“You too,” the dark haired one cut in, sounding amused. Sigrid nodded once at them, and then was on her way again, not paying attention to the way both men looked after her as she walked away.

+++

“Nicely done Fili,” his brother mocked him, laughing far more than Fili believed was strictly warranted. 

“Shut up Kili,” Fili said without preamble, moving inside the store. He looked down at the list that had been growing in size since they’d arrived in Laketown the week before and began grabbing things.

“She was very pretty,” Kili continued, impish grin that had always gotten him both into and out of trouble firmly in place.

“Shut up Kili,” Fili said, grabbing a bag of apples.

“All blonde and womanly and pretty blush.”

“Kili, if you don’t shut up, I will strangle you with an extension cord, and Thorin might even thank me for it.”

“You’re no fun, Fili,” Kili grumbled, but he left off speaking.

However, Kili wasn’t wrong. Fili had certainly noticed that the girl was pretty. Blue eyes, hair like gold; could he be blamed for wanting to keep talking to her?  
“Bit of an awkward way to meet someone though,” he muttered to himself while Kili was occupied with something else.

He wanted to know what her name was. He’d liked the feel of his arm around her waist after he’d stopped her from falling, though she’d probably been embarrassed by it. Not that he blamed her; she’d plainly not been watching where she was going. Which wasn’t to say that he had been either. Too busy with thoughts of their latest job and whether it would be enough to pay their bills and send some of the money home to their mother.

Fili wondered what the pretty blonde had been thinking about.

+++

When Sigrid got home, Bain was trying to help Tilda with her math, but that had always been Sigrid’s area of expertise, so the younger two weren’t having much luck. With promises to help after she got supper going, Sigrid listened for messages on the machine, and was saddened when one from her da told her that he’d be home late that night. An even less pleasant message was from Alfrid, telling her she needed to come in the next day, which should have been her day off. She grumbled to herself about the loss of time off, but rationalized that at least she’d be making more money. Still, her fantasy of smacking Alfrid over the head with a frying pan was looking more and more appealing. 

When she finally got supper in the oven, she sat down at the table to help Tilda. The nine year old was glaring at the problems unhappily by then, and Sigrid fought to hide a smile.

“Alright, Tilda, what’s the problem?”

“Math is stupid,” Tilda grumbled.

“Maybe true,” Sigrid said with a small smirk. “But that’s not the relevant problem here. What is it that you can’t figure out?”

+++

At Fili’s house, he and Kili ate takeout and watched kickboxing. Kili was far more into it than Fili, who was more preoccupied with looking at the plans for the house they were building.

“Come on Fee,” Kili tried to persuade him. “Even Thorin isn’t working right now.”

“You don’t think our uncle is looking over the plans the night before we start?” Fili asked, doubtful.

“Okay, true, but, you are not Thorin,” Kili pointed out. “For one thing you’re a lot blonder than him.”

“Aren’t you observant,” Fili snorted.

“And you know who else is blonde? The girl from the grocer’s today.”

Fili sighed, knowing he was in for a long night of bad segues. 

+++

The next morning Sigrid got ready for work and made Bain and Tilda’s lunches. Technically they could do it for themselves, but she liked to save them the trouble, since she was up early enough anyway. She was just finishing that when her da entered the kitchen. Bard Girion was grim-faced as usual, but he managed a smile for his oldest daughter.

“Thought today was your day off, Sig?” he asked, looking down at her in concern.

“It was, but Alfrid left a message asking me to come in last night. It’s not that big a deal,” she replied, shrugging it off as though it were nothing. Her da hugged her again and Sigrid allowed herself a moment of comfort.

“Don’t work yourself too hard, Sig. You deserve better than that.”

“I’ll be alright, Da,” Sigrid said, finally with a real smile. “Where are you headed today?”

“Just across, to Esgaroth. I’ll be back in time for supper tonight.”

“Good. I’ll make stew,” she said, pleased.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to work.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Sigrid protested.

“And that’s where you’re wrong. Let’s go; it’s on the way to the docks anyway.”

While she could have pretended like she was indifferent, Sigrid was extremely pleased for the time with her da all to herself. Sometimes he took Bain out on the boat with him, and he always made time to tuck Tilda into bed when he was home to do it. Sigrid had to content herself with the occasional walk to work. But that was okay, so long as he was around.

+++

Fili woke up and showered before Kili, ensuring he would get the bigger share of the hot water. (It was the little things in life, after all.) He then ingested the vile instant coffee they’d bought the day before, and resolved to get some from somewhere that was not their kitchen. When Kili joined him, dark hair still wet, Fili received a rough punch to the shoulder.

“Son of an orc,” Kili grunted, only making Fili smirk.

“Wakes you up better than this, I think,” he said, holding up his mug. “I don’t care that we’re poor, we’re getting something better. There’s got to be a decent coffee shop somewhere in this town.”

“Think I heard of one,” Kili said, perking up a bit. “The Master’s, or something like that.”

“Oh, real subtle,” Fili snorted. “No accounting for taste. Still though, long as the coffee’s good, owner can call himself whatever he pleases.”

“You’re a man of simple pleasures, aren’t you Fee?” Kili asked him in amusement. “Good coffee, good beer, pretty blondes.”

“Oh, for Mahal’s sake!” Fili grumbled. “You ever plan on letting that go? She couldn’t have been older than nineteen.”

“Like you’re an old man,” Kili scoffed.

“I don’t even know her name.”

“Laketown’s small enough to mend that,” Kili retorted with a wink.

+++

Sigrid opened the diner as she usually did. She filled the salt and pepper shakers and loaded napkin dispensers. When Maria arrived, together they did some prep work for later. At 7, she flipped on the ‘open’ sign. For about half an hour she looked after the few patrons who showed up, keeping her ‘I have to be nice to you’ smile firmly plastered on. It was not going to be a fun day.

At 7:30, Sigrid didn’t notice who walked through the door before taking a seat at the counter.

“Sig, at the bar,” Maria said. Sigrid nodded in thanks and turned. She was not prepared to see the blond man and his dark haired companion from the day before. While she felt awkward, she couldn’t exactly just leave them there.

“Can I help you?” she asked, walking over. The blond she’d run into looked at her like she was a ghost, while the brunet looked as though Christmas had come early.

“We meet again,” the brunet said cheerfully. 

“So it would seem,” Sigrid said, a reluctant smile on her face. “Seriously though, what can I get you?”

“Well, ma’am, my brother is dying for some coffee that doesn’t taste like it was filtered through his sock. As am I, to be honest.”

“Two coffees, coming right up.”

“Wait!” The sudden exclamation made Sigrid turn. It appeared the blond had found his tongue. “Sorry, but what’s your name?”

“Sigrid. Sigrid Girion. And you, sir?”

“Fili Durin,” he replied, the same crooked smile she’d seen the day before adorning his features.

“Nice to actually meet you, Fili Durin.” She turned away again, features softening somewhat.

Perhaps the day wouldn’t be so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m a sucker for the “running into each other – literally” meet-cute. Also, I know Esgaroth and Laketown are the same place, but I needed a name, and this is my verse to do with as I please. I have no guarantees as to whether I’ll continue this, but it’d be a lie to say I didn’t have any ideas. Still though, don’t hold me to anything.


End file.
